You Stole My First Kiss
by theguiltyprincess
Summary: [AU:School Life] Mai Taniyama is a Senior Class D student, Who hates class A's number one student, Oliver Davis, and is best friends with his twin brother, Eugene Davis. When her surrogate family is caught in a certain situation, she is forced to stay with her aunt's on and off boyfriend's colleagues who are… the Davises.
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

"Do you take Mai Taniyama as your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest says as the bride looked up at the very person she never thought she'd marry today. Maybe not today, maybe even ever.

"I do." He says. His eyes looking lovingly at the girl who he always dreamed of marrying.

How'd their story start? Well…

It starts in their last year of high school.

No… It starts with _one stolen kiss._

* * *

"I absolutely hate you Naru-chan!" yelled brown haired girl with furious cinnamon eyes. Her hands on her hips and her face getting red from anger on the obviously unaffected Raven haired boy in front of her.

"You know, Mai, if you shout like that people will think you have no brain at all." The raven haired boy replied in a monotonous voice. A smirk playing on his face. It was obvious that he loved to tease the brown haired girl.

"Now. Now. Noll, you should stop teasing Mai before she explodes." Another raven haired boy appeared. He was identical to the other one and was wearing an amused expression.

"Gene!" The girl; Mai gave a smile to the smiling raven haired boy; Gene. While the smirking raven haired boy; Naru slowly slips his stoic mask on.

"So Mai… gotten into any trouble lately?" Gene asked smiling and patting the top of Mai's head. Mai fumed a bit and let it go. "I haven't been in any trouble these past weeks." She pouted. Gene Laughed and continued to walk along with them.

Mai was a troublesome 3rd year student. Always finding herself in a sticky situation, but her personality can get her through it. These situations though were all for the benefit of others. She always greeted their problems with a warm smile and that's how she usually gets into situations.

One time she fell of a tree just because she was saving her neighbor's cat. She had a cast on her left arm for 2 weeks. The other time, she got scathed for trying to find her classmate's ring. She also got poison ivy at that time. Recently, she earned a scar from tripping but she got it through her clumsiness.

With those accidents her parents might be worried sick, the problem is they've already moved on to the afterlife. Mai's dad died because of car accident on his way back on an out of town business trip when she was 3. In middle school, her mom died of an illness that was left uncured since her mom worked her butt off on their living expenses and her school tuition. Mai was then in the care of her Aunt Ayako, her mom's closest friend, and her on and off boyfriend Takigawa.

Though a lot of things had happen, she was still smiling. If anybody asked her , she would always reply 'My parents wouldn't have wanted me to sulk on them forever.' with a warm smile. Her best friend, Gene, would usually wonder how that girl possesses the ability to bounce back from two great losses, but of course he knew she would answer the same thing.

"Gene, I like you."

"That was your seventh confession this week." Gene laughed.

"I won't give up, Gene!" She made a fighting sign with her fist.

His twin brother looked at him and then at Mai before going back to his book.

Gene sighed at his brother's reaction and went back on small talks and jokes with Mai. Noll just walked at their side, not minding their chatter.

* * *

"You got a C-?" Naomi asked.

Mai shyly nodded then looked up to see her friend's expression. To her surprise, Naomi was laughing.

"Same here!" She gave Mai a surprise hi-five. "I thought I was the only one." She hugged Mai lovingly.

Naomi was pretty much an airhead like Mai, but she was a good friend. Naomi also was very affectionate with her friends and treasured them as they helped her get through her studies when she was rock bottom. If trouble ever came, she'd defend Mai in a heartbeat even in dire situations. She was also a Davis twins' fangirl which is how she met Mai.

Mai fondly remembers when she met Naomi who was asking for a sample of Oliver's strand of hair. She also occasionally uses her connection with the twins for her to get what she wanted from Naomi.

"What's the occasion?" Louise asked.

Naomi stopped hugging and turned to the girl who had just arrived.

"Ruwi-cchi!" Naomi began to hug the girl. "What did you get on the test?"

"I got a B+ because I actually bothered to study and not spend my time stalking the Davis' twins." Louise smirked trying to pry off Naomi.

Louise was half-Japanese, half-American explaining her English name. Her parents never bothered to give her a Japanese name. She looked more Japanese than American but her blonde hair and blue eyes had another say in otherwise. Louise's personality at a glance would be shy but when she gets comfortable around someone she was pretty devious.

"As If you weren't stroking that precious baby photo Eugene gave you the other day." Naomi said causing Louise to blush. "Don't say that out loud!" Louise covered the other girl's lips.

Louise has a not-so-obvious crush on Eugene Davis, but since Mai had declared her "love" for Eugene, she never spoke about her feelings for the boy yet Naomi never ceases to tease Louise after finding out.

"And it's Louise, not Ruwi, Naomi." Louise straightened her clothes from wrinkles.

Mai remembered when Louise was just a transfer student and couldn't speak Japanese properly.

"But Ruwi is cute!" Mai could only laugh at Naomi's childish behaviour. "Anyway, who are you going to give those chocolates to Mai?" She asked pointing to the three Plastic bags on her desk.

"Bou-san, Eugene and Yasu." She smiled.

"What about Naru-san?" Louise asked.

"I would never give anything to that jerk!" Mai scoffed and two other girls laughed.

The teacher had entered the room and the three girls had quiet down.

"Kiritsu."

Little did Louise or Naomi know….

There was one more bag of chocolates inside her bag.

* * *

"Davis-san, please go out with me." The girl had bowed her head and held out a box of chocolate in his hands.

"I'm not interested in anyone. Go away." Oliver said tonelessly leaving another girl in heartbreak. The girl ran off to seek comfort from her friends who were waiting for her from behind.

"That was harsh." Eugene commented, hands full of chocolates and what not girls had given him.

"I had grown impatient. I wanted to go home quick." Oliver shrugged. "And what do you plan to do with all of these?" He raised an eyebrow at what his brother was bringing along.

"Eat them, of course. Valentine's is all about chocolates and eating them." Eugene said opening one and popping a small piece in his mouth. "Want one?" He offered.

"No thanks. It'd give me Cavities." Oliver said, looking around.

"Still expecting someone?" Eugene asked.

"No…" Oliver shook his head. His eyes then travelled to a certain plastic bag with heart shaped cookies. Eugene caught him staring at it and explained. "Oh those were from Mai, she gave them to me during break."

Oliver looked slightly disappointed for a fraction of a second before sticking his nose in a book once again.

Eugene knew that his brother had feelings for the brunette but the incident exactly a year ago wouldn't help the situation. He remembered that day when Mai had run in his arms bawling her eyes out…

_When she got rejected by Oliver Davis.  
_

* * *

**AN:** Longest Prologue Ever. So this is the other story beside got to believe I am writing. It's slightly based on another anime only slightly XD So I hope you like You Stole My First Kiss (YSMFK (cause it's too long) ) I did my best on this one ;u;


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

1 Year Ago.

"_You may see me as a sister or a friend, Naru, but I wanted you know." Mai kicked the dirt on the ground of the playground as Naru looked at her, raising an eyebrow at her nervous actions. She never acted like that around him._

"_It's just… ugh. Why is this so hard?!" She kicked the ground harder. The dust flying making her cough._

"_What is so hard Mai?" He asked impatiently. He was suddenly brought out here by Gene when he was in a middle of a study in his room. Gene said it was something urgent but there wasn't anything urgent in this situation._

_Mai grunted. She ground her teeth trying to get the words out. "I-I Like you." Mai looked down like her shoes were the most important thing in the world. She couldn't dare look at Naru right now but when he didn't say a word she slowly looked up._

_For once, Naru's eyes widened a fracture of a second before narrowing into slits._

"_Are you sure?" He asked._

"_W-what?" Mai took a step back._

"_Are you sure you even like me? You probably like Gene." He crossed his arms as he watched Mai's eyes widened and he felt his heart clench. The look on her face, it made it clear that she never liked him._

_He knew it was too good to be true that Mai liked him, though he felt the same way. He could never fall in love with him, it was probably Gene. They were so close that it made him sick that he was jealous of his twin. It made him sick but he knew everyone would like Gene better than him. Gene was friendly, warm and sweeter, he was just an introvert, a bit socially awkward and nobody would like that._

_Mai couldn't believe him. He was telling her off by telling her her feelings were misguided and it is supposed to be aimed at his twin. It made her heart clench from the anger and hurt. She had always loved Naru, which is a shocker since they bicker a lot compared to Gene, who she shares a laugh with daily, but that doesn't mean she liked Gene. She felt platonic towards Gene, It was his twin that she had romantic feelings for._

"_Don't confuse your feelings for me for your feelings for him, Mai. I am not a substitute just because Gene has a girlfriend." He tried to say it as a fact but when he heard those words instead, why did he hear disappointment in them? "_

_She loved how Naru is whether he's teasing her or when he shows he cares for her. The smiles reserved for the eyes of Gene and occasionally, at her made her heart tingle, the memories they shared during their freshmen and sophomore days, and all of the things that was Naru, She loved them all even now when he misunderstood everything._

_Mai's eyes started to water as anger and hurt flicker through her heart. She blinked back the tears and grit her teeth._

"_Y-Yeah, I probably do like Gene." Mai said through her teeth._

_Naru gave a look that subtly spoke 'I-told-you-so'._

"_Because I could never like a jerk like you who would declare my feelings as if he knew, as if it was his own!" She shouted angrily._

_Naru's eyes widened but he couldn't speak._

"_Sure! if you knew my feelings so well then tell me, Why does my heart beat when I am close to you? Why do I want to be with you?" She asked angrily._

_Naru didn't move an inch and even his eyes stayed unblinking._

"_and why don't I agree with you if you say I liked Gene?" She asked her eyes streamed with tears and her voice grew as quiet as a whisper, yet Naru heard it and he looked down._

'_I was wrong?' He always thought It was Gene. The way Mai smiles at him when they were together, the way they knew what the other was thinking, and how they looked like an item together. He had always thought that Mai had feelings for Gene and it hurt… but now… __**She liked him.**_

_Not Gene. __**Him.**_ _He felt a sickening happiness bubbled up inside him._

"_Mai." He finally spoke but when he looked at her she had already ran away. That's when he knew…_

_He couldn't fix this._

* * *

After that incident a year ago, Naru couldn't speak more than a sentence to Mai. They stayed silent and awkward until Mai had declared her love for his twin brother. That's when they started to act normally again, bickering, teasing and whatnot but for Naru, everything wasn't the same as it was.

* * *

"Yes, I'm going home Ayako. No. No. There's no need for you to order pizza with your credit card, I already ate. Yes Ayako, I'll do my homework when I get home. Yes, The medicine." Mai said as endless reminders from her guardian, Ayako Matsuzaki who was on her business trip, boomed through her phone's receiver. She was walking home from school.

"Mai?" Old man Hiro appeared in front of her.

"Oh My Gosh!" Mai shouted earning frantic rants from her guardian on the other line.

"Mai, Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'll Call 911." Ayako almost put her on hold to call for help before Mai spoke up. "No, I'm fine. Call you back later."

"Wait, Mai-

She ended the call.

"I'm so sorry to scare you, Mai, but Matsuzaki-san's house seems to be breaking apart. The Roof on the side fell and almost hit My grandson a while ago." Hiro-san said.

"I'm so sorry to hear that! But what do you mean Hiro-san?" Mai asked.

"It's okay Mai-chan, just a case of bad timing and It's not your fault the house is collapsing. Well… I don't really know but I think,It isn't safe for you to stay there. It might be termites or something but I think it's best if you sleep somewhere else until your Aunt Ayako is back, and get the house fixed." He scratched his head.

"I'll call her again, but I can't afford to stay at a hotel!" Mai began to dial Ayako's number.

"Well you could stay at a friend's house. I'd offer our house, but my Son and his family are here for the mean time." He smiled apologetically.

"It's okay Hiro-san. My friends coincidentally have relatives over too. I'll just call Ayako, maybe I could stay at Bou-san's if they're on again." She sighed and pressed the call button.

"Mai? Are you okay?! You had me worried there." Ayako asked frantically.

"Well… Your house may be infested with termites or something. Hiro-san told me that apart of the roof collapsed a while ago and I can't stay there today. It might be dangerous." Mai blew a strand of her hair out of her face. Their wasn't a reply on the other line, Ayako must be thinking.

"I could stay at Bou-san's today." Mai suggested.

"Ugh. Absolutely not." Ayako groaned.

"Off?" Mai asked.

"Permanently. I kicked him out of the house you know." She replied firmly.

"You said that last time too… that you were permanently off. It lasted for what? A day and a half?" Mai giggled.

"I'm sure this time. That jerk is probably off frolicing with his band mates." Ayako said bitterly.

"I thought you both were off? Stalking him on facebook?" Mai asked.

"Ugh. His updates go on and on on my wall. He's not that busy so go call him. He might have something in mind. I have a meeting coming up. Sorry, Bye! Text me for an update." Before Mai could speak a word, Ayako already hung up.

Mai sighed alerting Hiro-san. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Hiro-san asked earnestly.

"No need Hiro-san. I'll contact Bou-san." She said and dialled Bou-san's number.

"Mai?" He asked.

"Ayako's house is falling apart. Need a place to stay." She said.

"Well… My Band mates are here… but you could stay at a colleague's. He has sons in the same school as you, His house is just around the neighborhood, and I guess they wouldn't mind you staying there." Bou-san suggested.

"Wouldn't it be too imposing for them?" Mai asked. She heard another male voice on the line and remembered his band mates were staying there.

"Well.. The professor does owe me a big favor. They won't mind Mai and His wife would be totally delighted to have you over." He said.

"Bou-san, I'm not even familiar with them!" She said exasperatedly.

"Mai. They wouldn't mind, trust me. And... it would only be for one night." Bou-san said.

"Just for one night?" Mai asked. The thought of staying at someone elses' house irked her.

"Just for one night. I could probably call pest control tomorrow to check on her house while you're at school." He said.

"Okay then but, Ayako wouldn't want you to call pest control for her. Aren't you guys off?" Mai asked.

"She only thinks that." She could hear the smugness of his voice. "I'll get you from outside her house then. Wait for me there?" Bou-san said. Mai could hear the rustling of fabric. 'Probably getting dressed.' She thought.

"Okay." She said and hung up.

"Sorry to make you wait Hiro-san. I'm going to be staying at Bou-san's friend's house." She smiled.

"That's great!" Hiro-san smiled back.

"Well I guess we should walk back. I'll wait for Bou-san outside the house." Mai said and they walked back to their street.

"Go inside Hiro-san, I bet they're all waiting for you. Thank you for the warning." She bowed.

"Anytime Mai-chan!" He smiled and walked back in his house.

Mai waited a bit until Bou-san finally arrived.

"Well Mai, You should get your belongings. I'll go in with you to survey the damage." He said smiling.

"Okay then." Mai said and they both went in his house. Mai had noticed that the house had gained cracks and some of the floorboards broke. She almost fell into one on her journey to her bedroom.

She had already packed an overnight set of clothes, her uniform, toiletries, and other stuff in her backpack and told Bou-san that it was time to go.

* * *

They had arrived at an american style, two-story, modern house. Mai had noticed that it looked new and that the name outside hasn't been installed yet.

"Well The Professor and his family just moved here from their previous house in another neighborhood here." Bou-san said as he looked at Mai surveying the house in awe.

Bou-san rang the doorbell and Mai stiffened.

"Don't worry Mai, I contacted them and told them about the situation, they were more than willing to have you here." He smiled.

An 40-year old something man, who didn't look Japanese stepped out along with a 40-year old something lady who wasn't of Japanese origin either. They both looked Europian, probably, English.

"Houshou! It's glad to see you!" The old man spoke in Japanese with a slight English accent which confirmed Mai's assumption. He pulled Bou-san in a hug. The Woman looked at Mai curiously making Mai nervous and shy.

"Professor! It's so nice to see you!" Bou-san said releasing him from the hug.

"Come in both of you! It's a chilly night!" The woman said as she ushered both of them inside. She also had a slight English accent as she spoke but less evident than her husbands.

Mai and Bou-san removed their shoes.

"Ojamma shimasu." Mai and Bou-san said upon entering. Mai stood in awe as she marvelled' the house's interior. She looked at the left side of the house and saw the living room, it had three loveseats with someone watching TV on the left couch. Luella and her husband then ushered them there and made Mai sit on the right side couch. Next to the living room was a staircase leading upstairs to probably the bedrooms and baths, and the right side was the kitchen and dining room.

A foreign-looking kid with bright blonde hair and blue eyes looked up from his side of the living room as he saw the new comers.

"Oh we forgot to introduce ourselves! My name is Luella, he's Martin." Luella pointed to her husband.

"I'm Taniyama Mai, It's nice to meet you Luella-san and Martin-san." She bowed.

"It's nice to meet you, Mai-chan." Luella smiled.

Luella at a glance was very motherly and warm, In Mai's opinion. Martin on the other hand was quiet but he tend to observed a lot, his behavior reminded her of Naru's without the rudeness, and narcissism.

"The kid over there is John Brown, he's 14 and is in Junior High. He's my sons' cousin but they're still upstairs fixing your room." Luella said. John bowed his head shyly before watching TV again.

"Oh Luella-san. There's no need for such-

"Nonsense Mai-chan! You are our guest!" Luella said and Mai heard footsteps descending from the stairs.

She heard a familiar voice.

"Mum, We've finished cleaning the guestroom!" She heard the familiar happy tune of his voice.

She turned to the direction of the voice and saw him.

"Gene?!" Her eyes widened the second time as his twin had appeared from behind him. "Naru?!"

* * *

**AN:** Update yey! So the first part of the chapter was pretty hard to write especially naru's thoughts and ugh can we just not cause he is ugh slightly ooc (i tried)

so here now Mai what will you do? XD and also other characters such as Yasuhara, Masako, Lin, and Madoka will appear in later chapters as well as two other ocs

**tgp replies:**

_Seishin no Hime:_ I only watched the Anime version and the first season of the taiwanese version... but i do plan to watch that too for very slight refference and review of the story.

_dianaloveanime:_ Itazura Na Kiss :) It's a good anime but there will be a lot of changes here compared to the story of that anime

_All reviewers: _Thank you for reading YSMFK and for all the positive reviews I will try my best!

_Silent readers: _I appreciate you all reading YSMFK even if you do stay silent but I hope the story plot will somehow coax you out of being silent eh? XD

Till the next time :)

-**tgp**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: **If you read the previous chapter before my edit welp: I changed something a bit. Just the part when Mai said : "I'm Taniyama Mai, it's nice to meet you davis-san, and davis-san." I changed it to: "It's nice to meet you Luella-san, Martin-san." because I forgot for a moment Mai does not know she was staying at the Davis'. so minor mistake sorry.

* * *

Chapter 2

They were all gathered for dinner inside the Davis household. Mai was hungry and she only declined Ayako's offer of pizza because she didn't want Ayako to spend so much and she couldn't eat it all by herself.

"So you know each other already? That's great!" Luella clapped happily.

Mai elbowed Bou-san at her side who was shocked and turned to her.

"Why didn't you tell me it was the Davises?!" Mai whispered.

"How was I suppose to know that your crush-

He was elbowed in the ribs before he could finish his sentence.

"Is there something wrong Houshou?" Luella asked.

"No. Not at all Luella-san." He said through his teeth as he fingered the hurting ribs Mai hit. He glared at Mai before returning his smile at Luella.

"It's so nice to have Mai here! I've never had a daughter so I'm sure I'd enjoy having you around!" She said giddily looking at Mai who smiled back a bit awkwardly.

"Now. Now. Luella don't scare Mai off." Martin looked at his wife who pouted in return.

"No. No. It's okay Davis-san. I don't mind at all but I hope I'm not imposing or anything." Mai smiled at Luella who looked smugly at her husband.

"Not at all dear, We are so glad that you're here. If you'd like you could stay forever!" Luella said happily. Mai was about to reply when Gene said something.

"So Mai, I guess we'd have a sort of slumber party tonight huh?!" Gene said looking excitedly at Mai.

"Would you like to have your toes and nails painted as well?" Mai giggled at Gene's look of disgust. She didn't notice Naru looking at her as she did but his twin did and he noticed how long he was looking until he finally snapped from his trance and went back to eating his food.

Naru was somehow… entranced?

He was drawn by Mai eating, laughing, well Mai's whole existence in his comfort zone. He didn't realize he was staring until His brother had hit his knee from under the table. It was somehow a whole surreal coincidence that out of all the students in their school who could probably be their guest tonight it was their very own, Mai Taniyama.

He was both thankful and not.

"So John-san, from your accent, I say you learned from the Kansai region. What brings you to Tokyo?" Mai asked at John who only spoke a few words through the whole dinner. Mai tried her best not to laugh the first time he did, and thankfully she was able to hold it… whereas Bou-san who almost choked while laughing.

'Serves him right.' She thought at that time.

"Well… My parents and I used to live in Osaka until my parents had to come back to Australia for family business. They didn't want me to sacrifice my dream of schooling here in Japan, so they let me stay at my mother's cousin, Aunt Luella." He smiled. "They all seem like family that I call Gene and Noll, Aniki." He smiled.

"John's a pretty bright student as well, The best in his class." Martin said proudly then took a sip of his juice.

"Not really, Uncle. I just study." John gave a shy smile.

"Man! I wish I had the willpower to study." Mai said exasperatedly. "I look at the book and the next thing, I know I'm falling asleep." She added which made the whole table laugh, aside from Naru, of course, but he did give a small smirk.

"No wonder you're so stupid." Noll said with a mock shake of the head. It was obvious he was teasing her again, even Luella noticed this. Of course, she has never seen him act in school so this behavior was unfamiliar to her. She observed as the two exchanged small insults. She had never seen her son interactive during dinner, or even ever.

"Oh My Gosh! I'm so sorry Luella-san, Martin-san." Mai suddenly apologized upon realizing that she was insulting the son of the people who generously let her stay there for the night. Even though she was provoked, It was still polite to demonstrate table manners and respect at another's house.

"It's okay, Mai. Our son was behaving badly." Luella said with a reassuring smile aimed at Mai, which was then replaced with a glare aimed at Naru. "That's not how to treat our guests. Apologize to Mai-chan, Noll."

"Fine. Sorry Mai." He apologized tonelessly.

"No. Don't worry, Luella-san. Me and Naru argue like that a lot." She smiled sheepishly. Luella raised an eyebrow but then smiled back. So her son, frequently argues like that with her. That's more than how much he talks with her… much more.

She eyed Mai curiously as she chatter with Gene. There was something about this girl that can coax Noll out of his shell. He even stayed for second servings which shocked her. Usually Noll, would finish first and then lock himself up in his room.

She would observed her and Noll during the duration of her stay.

The dinner then continued on with stories and laughter at the Davis household

* * *

"I gotta go Jou-chan." Housho said and patted the girl's head. Mai's eyes suddenly widened and gestured him to wait there. She then went up to the room where she put her belongings in before dinner and grabbed a bag of cookies.

Bou-san raised an eyebrow as he saw her descend the stairs. In reply to his questioning look, Mai raised the cookies.

"Are these for me?" He asked.

"Yes. They're honmei. It's my thanks for always being there. Happy Valentines day!" Mai hugged the man. Mai considered Bou-san as his big brother and Ayako as her big sister. Both were a big part of her life as they had both helped her through everything that had happened in her life.

Bou-san returned the hug and said his goodbyes to Mai and the Davises. He made his way home and Mai was now left with the family of her closest friends.

* * *

Oliver was lying down in his room contemplating earlier events. He had witnessed the exchange between Mai and her brother-figure but what he noticed the most was what she gave him. The bag of cookies had irked him ever since this afternoon. He had also learned that other than his brother, Mai also gave one to her closest friend from 3-B, Yasuhara Osamu.

He wasn't jealous but wouldn't it make sense if he also received one too? Yasuhara was her close friend, Gene was her close friend, and he was pretty sure that he was also her close friend.

'_Sure. You are __**so**_ _not jealous.' _said a sarcastic retort that sound eerily like Gene in his subconscious. He frowned.

They were close friends. Not best friends like Gene and her but they are close enough. The amount of memories and times they've been there for each other were enough proof of their friendship. So then why didn't he get even obligatory ones?

'_Because you rejected her, idiot.'_ He heard his mind say and flashbacks of the incident from one year ago invade his mind.

Maybe that was it. He did reject her painfully. It would only make sense if that was the reason why she didn't give him one.

Naru shook his head.

He took a look at the clock and it said 11:45 pm. He should be sleeping but the thoughts of heart shaped cookies kept flooding his mind. Maybe a drink of water would clear his head and he'd finally be able to fall asleep.

He went downstairs to find out he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.

Mai Taniyama, in an oversized shirt and pajama pants.

* * *

Mai drank the pill down with water. She couldn't sleep only because-

"What are you doing?" A familiar monotonous voice said. Mai almost felt her heart beat erratic and She placed her hand on her chest to calm her breathing. She turned around to see Naru… in pale blue pajamas.

'_He looks good in bright colors too.'_ She idly thought and felt a blush come on. Thankfully it was dark and he couldn't see. "I was just drinking water. I couldn't sleep just yet."

Naru looked at Mai as she grabbed something from the counter and put it behind her back. He eyed her suspiciously.

"So I'm just gonna go…" She tried to walk past him but was blocked by his hand. Mai looked at him with alarm.

"What's that behind your back." He tried to take a peek from behind her but she angled herself so he wouldn't see. He then tried to grab it from behind but due to Mai's movement both of them tripped and fell to the ground.

Naru looked down on her, only parts of her face were illuminated by the light from the window but he could see she had her eyes closed and he wondered why… He had this urge to lean down and…

He stopped himself just then.

Mai opened her eyes to find Naru on top of her. Good thing Naru couldn't see her, She looked like a tomato at the moment.

Naru stood up like nothing awkward ever happened and offered her a hand which Mai gladly accepted with her hand that was not holding….

'_A bag of cookies?'_ Naru thought as he finally caught glimpse of what Mai. Mai followed his gaze to see that Naru had already saw. She held them out to him.

"I was just gonna hang this with the ribbon outside your room… but I didn't know which was your room. So I decided to just go drink water and plan to wake up extra early tomorrow to find out where but…" She trailed off as he saw Naru raising an eyebrow at her.

"BUT, If you don't want it I can always eat it myself." She was about to open the bag of cookies but Naru snatched it out of her hands.

"I thought you didn't want it?" Mai tilted her head to the side with a smirk playing on her face.

"I never said anything." He said grabbing a cookie from inside. He felt unexpectedly happy as he took a bite. He hated sweets but this cookie was made from dark chocolate which made it not only tolerable, but very delicious, He couldn't help feeling in awe.

"I know you hated sweet stuff, so I made dark chocolate ones…" Mai eyed his expression and saw his eyes widened ever so slightly. "Are they okay?"

"They're delicious, Mai." He said taking another bite.

Mai beamed a smile at him then she felt herself yawn. "I'm going to hit the sack. Happy Valentines Day, Naru. Oyasumi."

Naru gave a small smile as Mai had ascended upstairs and was out of his sight. The cookies were certainly delicious. He didn't know Mai was such a good cook.

He had finished eating the whole bag when he realized….

Mai never said they were obligatory.

* * *

**AN:**

Japanese Words and Some terms I should Explain:

Kansai Accent Part - I read somewhere in the novel about Bou-san telling John to stop with the Kyoto accent? Then I watched an Anime called Lovely complex and they were talking in Kansai-ben so I chose osaka (correct me if I'm wrong)

Obligatory Chocolates or Honmei - It's sort of chocolates given to thank someone on valentines day that you have no romantic attachments to.

Aniki - Older brother.

Oyasumi - goodnight

SO HI I UPDATED. have decided to update every Saturdays and Tuesdays for this fanfic. Got to Believe is still currently in writing so I cant release next chapter till after I finish writing it off. Anyway I hope naru didn't become ooc ugh, I was rereading the light novels to get a good grip on Naru's character ( as you can see i failed miserably). There wasn't much Gene here though (sadly) I couldn't find a place to insert him other than the manicure part. but anyway... I hope you liked today's chapter *smiles* Also Thank you to everyone who favorited and reviewed you all deserve Mai's delicious cookies. PS: It was unmentioned but Gene and Yasuhara were also given Honmei chocolate

**tgp replies:**

Kopitar: Thank you for also suggesting the Japanese version. I can't wait to watch it just after i finish the korean one.

Reviewers: Thank you so much for the positive reviews! It all put a smile to my face :D I hope You'll continue to support YSMFK!

**Disclaimer:** **tgp** does not **own **Ghost Hunt. If She did... *evil laughs*

**-tgp**


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The next day, Mai woke up to the comfort of a very soft bed, with soft cotton duvets and soft heavenly pillows. She wanted to stay there forever until she realized she had school and she didn't want to be late… again. She got up and did stretches which were part of her everyday routine.

She smelt bacon, and eggs waft through her bedroom. '_Maybe Bou-san wanted to cook western food today.'_

She followed the scent downstairs when she finally realized.

She wasn't in Ayako's house. She was at the Davis household.

Bou-san wasn't the one cooking. It was Mrs. Davis.

And she was in her night clothes, with ruffled hair, and probably drool on her mouth… in front of Naru and Gene...

... And the rest of the Davis family, with the exception of Martin, who seemed to have left early.

"Well good morning sweetie! I hope you had a good night's sleep." Luella said carrying the plates of food on the dining table. Noll took a glance at Mai's embarrassed face before hiding his smirk behind his notebook.

"I'm so sorry Davis-san! I forgot I was staying over and didn't quite ready myself…" Mai scratched her head. "I'm just gonna go up and ready myself… for school."

"You don't need to dear... Just sit down and lets have breakfast. Just prepare afterwards." Luella says after placing orange juice to everyone and placing one for herself and Mai. "Also... just Luella would be lovely."

Mai sat down right next to Gene who was busy conversing with John. She glanced over at what Naru was reading.

"Kanji?" Mai asked curiously.

"The only subject that has given Noll, quite recently, a grade of C." Gene took a bite of toast from his plate. John had already finished his plate and excused himself. "On a quiz though, but if he gets another C well… it's goodbye #1." He chuckled.

"Do not irritate me Gene." Naru warned whilst reading. He took a bite at his food when he heard Mai giggling. He looked at her, setting the book aside, and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, I remember, Mai's a super trooper at kanji. You got all A's on tests last year when we were both in class 2-C." Gene looked at Mai smiling.

"Nah… It's probably the only subject I can ace best. Trigonometry though, I would die a hundred deaths before I understand this thing." Mai sighed as she remembers an F on her latest quiz. It felt like there was no more hope for the test.

"How about I give you the world's greatest tutor at the price of you teach him Kanji?" Gene said gesturing jazz hands at Naru who just glared at him. Gene looked at his brother and smiled a knowing smile. "Come on, Noll! It's a win-win situation. You get a higher grade than a C at kanji thus, not losing your number one status while you teach Mai trigonometry and she'd be safe from repeating!" Gene said trying to convince Noll who was pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance of having Gene's loudness so early in the morning.

Gene's idea didn't irk him though. It was really beneficial for both of them to help each other with each of their strengths for each of their weaknesses. Being with Mai for longer periods of time would be a plus...

'_Wait did I just...?' _He said and stopped his train of thought._  
_

Mai looked at Naru to see that he was very annoyed with the idea and her heart sank. "Oh. It's okay Gene. I don't want to force Naru into something he doesn't want to do." Mai smiled but it looked more crestfallen than genuine.

Naru raised an eyebrow at Mai's expression. Did she think he didn't want to do it?

"I'll do it." He finally said. It wasn't as if he didn't want to do it… Did he appear like it? Was that the reason Mai had said she didn't want to force him into something he didn't want to do?

"No. No. You don't have to force yourself-

"I said I'd do it, Mai." He said a bit too sternly than he intended. He took a sip out of his orange juice and began eating.

"Oh… Okay." Mai said quietly, and began to dig in herself.

Eugene watched the whole awkward scene played before him then he sighed.

'_Does playing matchmaker for them have to be this hard?'_ He thought exasperatedly.

-x-x-x-

"Bye, Mai!" Naomi and Louise waved their hands to Mai as they made their way to the opposite direction Mai was headed.

Mai was excited to go home again to her and Ayako's home. Not that the Davis weren't good host, they were beyond excellent. It was just that she didn't want to impose too much on such a good hearted family (even though Naru was a jerky jerk outside she knew he had a good heart as well.). The happening yesterday also didn't help since Nru seems to be annoyed by being alone with her. She felt her heart clench a bit.

Though the good side is she had a very nice stay but that's nothing to looking forward to sleeping in your bed and waking up with your embarrassing PJ's and going to eat breakfast without the fear of her crush seeing.

'_I wonder if Ayako got the pests out of the house?'_ She wondered and then her phone rang.

'_Ohhh… It's Ayako! What great coincidence!'_ She smiled at her phone before answering. "Moshi Moshi?" (an. Pronounced as Mosh Mosh)

"Ugh. You can't go home yet… " Ayako said on the other line, groaning.

"What do you mean I can't go home yet?" Mai asked suddenly disappointed that she couldn't go home yet.

"There's a thing called ground subsidence going on in My and Old Man Hiro's area. Hiro-san is probably gonna move in with his children for a while until they buy him a new house." Ayako said. Mai could hear the buzzing background noises of people talking and whispering. '_She's probably at another of those doctor conferences or something.'_

"What about me then?" Mai asked suddenly aware that she had no where to stay.

"I already talked with babe-

"Babe? Bou-san? You're on again? What happened to permanently off?" Mai asked suddenly straying off topic.

"Ugh. That's not the issue here. Babe already has your stuff packed, Don't worry I came home a while ago for the house, I packed your stuff for you when they said this was nothing pest control or renovation can fix. I would have been the one to bring you to the Davises but I had to leave for another meeting back here." Ayako said.

"The Davises?!" Mai's voice raised a pitch.

"Why? Is there something wrong?" Ayako asked suddenly alarmed.

"No. No. They're good hosts but wouldn't it be a burden for them to have me again?" Mai scratched her head. "How long do I have to stay?"

"A while…." She trailed off. "well for a really long while till I find another property in that area. The houses at our part are gonna sink and collapse so might as well just move else where." She could feel Ayako massaging her forehead at the other side of the line saying this. "I didn't want you to move too far, you're school is conveniently near those parts."

Finding another property won't be a problem money-wise since Ayako's parents are both very wealthy doctors and she was also too but to construct a new house would take months before finishing.

'_So much for looking forward to going home….' _Mai sighed.

"Don't worry about being a burden to them, Luella adores you!" Ayako said enthusiastically.

"Yeah… I guess." Mai said.

"Well, Bou-san already has your stuff there. I bet Luella has redecorated your room till the end of your stay, which will probably be till… The end of your Senior Year."

"Till Graduation?!"

"Probably till summer break actually or your first year in college." Ayako said.

"First year in college?!" Mai shouted at the receiver.

"Ow. Ugh. Got to go Mai. The speaker is here. Bye. Love you." Ayako said farewell and hung up before Mai could say anything else.

x-x-x

"Ojjamashimasu!" Mai said removing her shoes as she entered the Davis household.

"Mai-chan!" Luella greeted the girl with a hug. "You should really greet us with a 'Tadaima' from now on." Mai hugged her back.

"Okay, Okay. Tadaima." Mai said as she was released.

"Okaeri." Luella replied. "Come! I'll show you your room!" She said and lead the girl a little too enthusiastically. She was lead upstairs until she reached the room where she formerly stayed at.

"Open it." Luella said, you could almost see her bouncing with joy. Mai turned the knob and was shocked at what she saw.

"I decorated it like how your old room looked like but added a few twists of my own." Luella said excitedly.

The twist was big all right. The whole room was changed from the simple guestroom into something that looked almost akin to home.

Instead of having a plain white bed by the window, She had it in the middle of the room. The bed was obviously new judging by how it shrunk from a queen size bed to a single bed. The window had a built in couch with it that had a great view of the outside (which she already knew on her previous stay). Luella put some of her teddy bears there.

Her small mirror in her old bedroom, became a huge vanity. Luella added the pictures she had on her old mirror on the vanity, and some of her perfumes and make-up on it to. Her old dresser now became a built in closet. She went up and opened it to see all her clothes folded neatly.

The space acquired from removing the queen size bed made Luella also add a study table and a chair. Luella put photo frames of Mai's last family picture with her parents as well as her picture with Naomi, Louise, and the Davis twins a year ago. Another noticeable thing was a laptop with a ribbon on top of it.

"Wow. This must have cost a lot Luella… I-

"Now, none of this money business. You will be part of the Davis household for quite a long time and I would want you to feel at home." She smiled at Mai.

Mai gave Luella a hug. "Thank you so much." She released Luella from the hug "I'm so sorry I'm just not used to these receiving thingies."

"You should get used to it." Luella winked. "I'll leave you to settle in and I'll get ready for dinner."

"Okay." Mai said and Luella was off to down stairs.

She sat down at the edge of the bed. It was so soft. '_I wonder if I can ever wake up early anymore.' _Mai thought as she lay her back down.

There was a knock on her door that made her sit up. "Come in."

The door swung open to reveal Naru leaning on the door frame. "Stupid. Close the door at times."

"Well hello to you, Naru." Mai said quietly as if she was being told at.

"I'm not here for an argument." Naru sighed. He was aiming for a retort but it seems that Mai was a bit apprehensive with him. Even at school, it seemed like she was avoiding him.

"Okay." Mai said.

"I was here to ask you if we could move the study session tonight? The exam was moved tomorrow." He said exasperatedly. He was caught of guard when Akihiko-sensei suddenly wanted to move the exam and was confident that the students were able to pass it.

'_He must be really bugged to be studying with me, that he just wants it to be over with.' _Mai thought, misinterpreting his expressions once again.

"Uhm… That's fine." Mai nodded carefully.

"Okay." He said before leaving but as he stopped at the doorway. "And Mai, I wasn't really annoyed by the idea of studying with you. It was just Gene being really loud in the morning." He turned back to Mai who's eyes suddenly widened.

'_I must have just really misinterpreted his look back then and acted weirdly right now.'_ She thought. She smiled at him and nodded then after, he left the room.

_'See Mai, He is not forced into this. He likes-_

She stopped at the word and replaced it _'thinks it will a benefit for both of you.'_

She nodded once again at her conclusion

-x-x-x-

"So I multiply this side and this side and sin to get the hypotenuse, right?" Mai asked Naru.

He nodded and then propped his chin on his hands resting on the study table. It was already a bit late at night and Naru had already finished memorising kanji in a way Mai made it easy to remember.

_-Short Flashback-_

"_So this looks kanji represents Ame (a.n.:rain) right? Just remember it looks like a window with raindrops. and…_

-end-

Naru was currently helping her with the recent lessons but they had to start at the basics since Mai barely understood it.

_-Short Flashback-_

"_So if I have 3x equals 6, Wait. What do i do?" Mai scratched her head._

"_Remove the 3, Mai." He said._

"_Wait. How?" Mai asked._

_Naru sighed exasperatedly. This had a long way to go._

-end-

"So my answer is 15.3cm? Is that correct?" Mai asked keeping her eyes on the paper. Suddenly anxious that maybe she calculated it wrong again. She glanced over and over at her answers as Naru wasn't answering.

"Naru?" She asked and glanced at her study buddy to find him asleep. Her jaw dropped at the view.

'_He looks so calm when asleep.' _She smiled and then yawned.

"Maybe, I should take a nap too." Mai rested her arms on the table and laid her head, facing Naru.

"Oyasumi."

-x-x-x-

Naru woke up to see that Mai had also fallen asleep. He glanced at the clock and noticed he slept for only an hour. He stretched his arms and grabbed the paper Mai last solved on.

"Wow. You solved this perfectly." He said groggily to his sleeping companion. "Along with the other problems we've done. I guess you're ready."

He took a look at her face, she looked so peaceful that made him stare… Her bangs were tied up, her eyes closed, and her mouth slightly open.

He concentrated on that last part. Her mouth. Her lips were apart, pink, and plump. He couldn't help but lean in a little bit more.

'_I wonder if...' _He was unconsciously Inching closer to answer that unfinished question in his head. '_What would it feel like?'_

He stopped himself upon realizing what he was about to do. It was pretty bad to take advantage of a girl when they're asleep… so he decided…

to place that kiss right on her forehead.

* * *

**A.N.** : Hi so I came back ;-; I'm so sorry, I was a bit busy with sschool and all and still am. I just felt really bad for not uploading this and it's been like... 3 months? welp... I plan to continue this story so don't worry. I'm not sure about an every tuesday update though since school -.- but I'll try to get some things up from time to time...

* Bows down to all reader * I'm really sorry

The babe thing though, I thought of it s a head canon that they sometimes call each other that when they're on again.

-**tgp**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"So I only asked you Noll to get her to pass Trigonometry, not get her into the top 20." Gene's jaw dropped as he saw, in bold letters, Mai take the 20th spot on the board of top exam passers. "I mean like, wow. I thought you were good, that you'd be good enough to get Mai through but this? ARE YOU SOME SORT OF TRIGONOMETRY MASTER OR SOMETHING?"

"No way." He heard and turned to his right and saw Naomi's eyes widened as she looked at Mai's name. Gene looked at his brother and gave a confusing stare only to be returned by a shrug.

"Naru! Naru! No way are you gonna believe this!" Mai said running to him waving excitedly. He couldn't help but give a small smile at her excited face but withdrew it as soon as he realized what he was doing.

"Louise just texted me and she said I passed the test!" She squealed.

"You did more than just pass, my dear friend." Gene pointed to her name on the top twenty bulletin board.

"Shinjirarenai…" Mai stood awestruck in front of the small paper. Never in her life did she get on a list filled with very smart people. Like ever.

"Believe it, Mai." Naomi said, smiling, earning a beam from the brown-haired girl.

Mai turned to Naru and gave the most warm-hearted smile as her heart kept leaping somersaults in glee. "Thank you so much, Naru." Leaving Naru at a dazed state as she turned to Gene.

'_Woah'_ Was the only coherent thought he had. He shook his head but still the image keep running through his mind like it is imprinted to stay there for a while.

"How about, Let's celebrate after school. You, Me, Naru, Naomi, Louise, and Yasu." Mai suggested counting her fingers on her guests. "As thanks for Naru and a celebration on my first time up the board." She smiled.

"Cool! I know a good family restaurant just around the corner, they call it Kyoko's." Naomi said clapping her hands excitedly.

"Okay! My treat." Mai winked. "I'll tell the others later."

The bell rung signaling them to go to class. Mai waved goodbye to the twins and dragged Naomi along.

Naru kept trying to erase her smile from his mind. It was like on a computer and he was trying to close an annoying pop up but it kept opening in multitudes. Mai was the pop up but not as annoying as those ads. It was not annoying at all in fact it was… enchanting?

It was not as if it was his first time seeing her smile… but this smile felt different. It caught him off guard and breathless for a tiny moment. It was something warm that reminded him of the fireplace in England on a rainy day, when it was peaceful and yet it also felt like every time he successfully finds the answers to his curiosity, and Something not even his nerdy science brain ( a term coined by Gene) could explain logically.

Naru stood there for a moment blinking when Gene waved his hand in front of his twin. "Sometimes I wonder if Mai is oblivious or just stupid." He said after watching his twin awake yet again from letting his mind fly away (or maybe heart) to a certain brown-haired lass.

-x-x-x-

"Ugh. Watch where you're going, idiot!" A high pitched irritated voice rang through. Mai looked up from her fallen state at the source of the voice. A girl, who looked to be her age, with slightly curled blonde hair looked down at Mai with an irritated face. She looked like a foreigner but her voice held no trace of an accent.

Mai was reminded of those bad girl bullies in those subtitled american movies she watched.

"I'm so so sorry." Mai said as she stood up and dusted her skirt uniform.

"Well you should be." She stormed off.

"ELISE!" another voice came from behind her and then again she got bumped into by another person, causing her to fall once again.

"Great! Twice in a row." She said sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm sorry." The boy held his hand out. Mai took a good look at him. He had brown hair and hazel colored eyes. He had a piercing on his right ear making him look like the bad boy type…

'_Wait he looks familiar…' _She thought. '_Could it be….?'_

"Mai?" The boy said as he helped her stand up. "Do you remember me?"

"Kou-kun?" Mai asked and the boy smiled as he was glad that she remembered. "How could I almost not recognize you Kousuke Yamamoto?" She felt embarrassed as it took her a while to realize it was him.

"Wow, You've changed a lot Mai, but still as short as ever." He laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"You should look at yourself, I mean, Wow. This was so not the boy I met in his duck pajamas." Mai gave a laugh. "America did you a makeover."

"Yeah." He smiled but suddenly widened his eyes. "Did you see my sister? Blonde hair, Designer clothes, and she's a foreigner, she sticks out like a sore thumb." He asked.

"Your sister? I saw her, but how is she your sister?" Mai asked wondering how the foreigner girl could become Kousuke's sister when he is purely Japanese.

"Oh, Dad remarried. Business only sort-of marriage." He shrugged. "So, I'm really sorry. I need to cut our reunion short."

"Oh. Uhm… Your sister went through there." She pointed to the other side of the hallway.

"Thanks Mai." He saluted her.

"Wait!" She said and he halted in his tracks. "Uhm… I sort of have this little get together with my friends later at Kyoko's family restaurant near here… if you're not busy or anything… come, okay?"

"Got it." he said before setting off to finding his sister.

-x-x-x-

'_Ugh. Why do i have to be transferred in this school? They have a uniform! for crying out loud.'_ Elise thought as she tried to find the school's exit. '_Ugh and there's not even a single hottie.'_

As if on cue, her eyes suddenly flashed at a raven-haired boy who was reading book in the hallway, on his way to his next class.

'_I take it back.'_ Elise said going through her mental check list. '_Face, Check. Mysterious, check. Tall, check...' _She kept a small distance away from him as she followed (_not stalked_) him. She also went through her mental checklist and the boy was hitting every point.

The boy then was joined by another who looked identical to him and they started a conversation '_Two of them! oh golly.' _Elise mentally squealed in delight. '_But the other one though, he's already the normal campus cutie type. Happy-go-lucky, friends with everyone, blah. blah. blah.' _She thought after observing the other one's actions.

'_I want the other one. He seems much of a challenge.' _Elise made a mental note to ask father to get her access the school files later. '_Guess, I'm enrolling here after all.'_ She giggled.

"ELISE!" Kousuke said finally getting to her. He then tried to catch his breath after searching for her all around the campus.

"We're enrolling in this school." Elise said crossing her arms with a smirk on her face.

Kousuke had a shocked look plastered on his face. "But… you hated this place as soon as you stepped on the campus grounds."

"My mind can change Kousuke-niichan" She smiled. '_More like a certain raven-haired boy could change it.'_

'_I'll make that boy mine.'_

-x-x-x-

"...And so I suggested that Noll tutor's Mai trigonometry and Mai will teach him kanji, which is a win-win situation." Eugene said as everyone around the table listened in on Mai's Top 20 success story.

"So, It wasn't really all me! Naru just made all the terms so simple." Mai smiled. It was that people took that as a self effort. '_Self-effort would have made me fail harder.'_

She turned to the door at just the right time as a familiar face appeared from beyond it.

"Of course, It had to be dumbed down enough for you to understand-

"He's here!" Mai said waving as he saw her friend appearing through the restaurant's glass doors.

The brown haired boy scanned the room and saw his friend waving for him to come. He walked over to the table and sat next to his friend.

"So everyone this is Kousuke Yamamoto." She said pointing to her friend smiling.

"Kousuke this is, Naomi." She said pointing to the girl next to her. "Louise." She then pointed to the girl close to the glass window. "The boy with the glasses over here is Yasu." She pointed to the guy in front of her. "This here is Gene." She pointed to Gene, who smiled back. "And the grumpy old man next to him is his twin brother, Naru or Noll."

"Oliver." Naru said frowning. He wouldn't like this stranger to call him that. "And what relation do you have with Mai?" He raised his eyebrows and his tone showed that he was displeased.

"He's my-

"Is he your boyfriend Mai?" Naomi suddenly butt-in. Mai only laughed.

Kousuke looked at her friends. '_They all look like a good bunch- why is this guy glaring at me?'_

Naru was, unknown to him, glaring at Mai's latest guest. Gene elbowed his brother's arm lightly causing his brother to look at him. Gene shot him a _you're-too-obvious _look.

"No." Mai giggled. "He's my childhood friend. We met in a hospital and it was a real long story."

"Involving duck pajamas and a lost princess." Kousuke smiled at Mai, earning another giggle from the brunette as she looks back fondly on the memory. "And don't forget, when we chased the old lady dragon!" She added.

"Well we wouldn't want to interrupt your reminiscing but We deserve a proper introduction from your friend." Louise said.

"Oh, Yeah. Right…" Kousuke coughed. "I am Kousuke Yamamoto as Mai had already introduce me as. You can call me Kou. Me and Mai became friends when we were children and we we're reunited again after all those years I've been in America."

"Mai's also my first love." He added causing ears to perk all around the table.

"Oh yeah. You confessed before you went to America." Mai said.

"WHAT?!" Gene, Louise and Naomi said in unison. Naru only rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He looked out the window, making it appear that he was not interested in the conversation but in reality he was listening hard.

"TELL US." Naomi demanded.

Mai giggled. "Well…"

-x-x-x-

"_Hey. It's not the end of the world, Mai." Kousuke said, wiping the girl's tears away._

_They've been friends since they were five… Now they're eleven and he's going to go._

"_Why does the world have the habit of taking those who are close to me?" Mai cried out. It's only been a year since her parents left her. It was a hard time and now her best friend was leaving soon._

"_I can still send you letters. I'll send you one everyday." Kousuke said. He knew how much pain Mai was when her parents died, he was afraid that him leaving would cause her down fall._

"_You promise?" Mai held out her pinky. _

"_Yeah." He said and intertwined his pinky. _

"_Now boarding flight number 2305567 bound for New York. Please board at gate 7."_

"_It's time to go Kou-sama." Kousuke's father's assistant called him._

"_Give me a minute, Mari." He said and the assistant backed off and waited for him at the entrance._

"_Hey. You know…" He said looking at Mai at the eyes. "I've always had a crush on you." He smiled._

_Mai's eyes widened and then another call for boarding was announced._

"_Bye Mai!" He ran off without even hearing her reply…_

"_I'm sorry."_

-x-x-x-

"So, basically you left his confession unanswered?" Gene said taking a bite of his meal.

"No, actually in a letter I said: '_I'm sorry Kou-kun, I like you… but just as my best bro._'" Mai said. "He replied that it was cool and it was just a small crush. No big deal." She waved the topic off, taking a sip of her drink.

"Poor Kou." Naomi said. "I'm so sorry we have such a dense friend." Louise giggled at Naomi's statement.

"Nah, it's cool. It was a long time ago." He laughed.

"But you guys would've made such a cute couple. OMG." Yasu said earning laughs as he mocked Naomi. "But seriously, You guys look so cute together." He said glancing at the two laughing.

Naru looked out the window annoyed. He wasn't so sure why, but hearing Mai's old friend laugh or even just talk, annoyed him. Sure, He had the guts to confess to her but this bad boy would not be fitted for Mai, judging from his looks and the way he acted.

_'Or maybe you're just really_ Jealous._'_ He dismissed the thought.

-x-x-x-

"I thought you liked vanilla ice cream." Kousuke said.

"Mai likes strawberry especially with chocolate syrup." Naru said as they were starting to order dessert. "Mai's preference would change over the years, so don't act like you know it all."

"NARU!" Mai glared at him.

"Geez. You don't have to be grumpy about it." Kousuke said.

Gene settled everyone's orders in order to let the anger steam from Naru and Kou as they were having a mini glare session, unbeknownst to Mai.

-x-x-x-

"I'm gonna go home." Naru stood up after he finished his meal, making the two other guys stand up to give him room to exit.

He didn't know why but he felt so angry at Mai's childhood friend. He wasn't doing anything wrong but every time he did something, it made Naru's blood boil.

'_Jealous, aren't we?'_ Oliver's conscious spoke in a tone that sounded almost like Gene.

"Hey!" Mai said standing up as well. "Don't just go yet."

"I have a lot of things to do Mai." Naru said walking away from the table. "I'll see you at home."

"Wait just a minute, you jerk!" Mai shouted at him following him to the outside of the restaurant.

"Mai's still paying the bill right?" Yasu asked the group as he saw Mai follow Naru out of the restaurant.

-x-x-x-

"Why are you such a jerk today?!" Mai said as she made Naru face her. He was trying to haul a taxi. "I mean this whole thing is to thank you for helping me get into the top 20 but It seems like you don't appreciate my thanks."

Naru stays silent as Mai continues on her rant. "And what did Kou ever did to you? You've been Mr. Snarky-pants to him ever since he entered the building."

"He was only trying to be nice but no... You kept on being rude to him." Mai crossed her arms. Her tears almost spilling. Her anger sometimes caused her to go into tears. She felt her heart race from the anger as well. "Ugh. Answer me, Naru!"

"You know what, I so regret ever falling in love with you." Mai said causing the Raven haired boy's eyes to widen. "I so regret staying in love with you!"

"Mai, I-

"Someday, I'm gonna go to college and maybe find a nice boy, and fall in love with him instead. or I could fall in love with Kousuke, Who knows?" Mai's tears streamed down her eyes. Her heart clenched in pain. "I'll forget all about you by then. I'll forget all about you." Mai looked him straight in the eye. "I'll even forget my feelings for you. They're useless and unrequited anyway."

"Go ahead and try to forget me then." Naru replied smugly. "After I do this, I doubt you could forget about me."

Mai raised her eyebrows and was about to ask what he was gonna do.

"What do you-

And she was silenced by a kiss.

Her first kiss.

* * *

AN: Hi guys! I'm so sorry for the late update... AGAIN. I Had a major block of inspiration so SOrry XD so yeah.

sorry for any OOC-ness i did my best. I'll try again next time...

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER

**-tgp**


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

"Louise, Was I somehow intoxicated last night?" Mai asked her best friend at the other line of her phone. She was on her third phone call with the people at her small celebration last night. "I mean did Yasu spike my drink or something?"

"No, Mai." Louise sighed. "There was nothing put in your drink. We were all out of the loop and were asking each other what went down there for a while."

"What did I do after I went and chased after Naru?" Mai asked biting her lip.

"Oliver had to go home early so you chased him and might have gotten into an argument judging by your teary-eyed face. We asked why but you just said nothing and payed the bill."

"I don't remember that part…" Mai said. Truthfully, all she could remember was that kiss. It filled her head the very moment she woke up. It rewound in her dreams. Her memories of last night seem to be buried under that moment. She contemplated whether she hallucinated, was intoxicated or just really desperate for his affection that her memory was altered by her brain. There was no way Naru would kiss her.

Thinking about it gave her a headache. She had to tell Luella she was sick for the day. The moment he heard Naru's voice outside asking Luella about Mai sent blood rushing to her cheeks.

In short, It was driving her crazy.

"What's wrong with you Mai? Did Oliver do something to you? You were kinda weird when you came back." Louise said.

Mai blushed hard and stuttered. "N-N-N-NO. I was fine. I must've hit my head on the way home and forgot everything last night. I don't know but uh… Bye!"

"Wait Mai-

Mai dropped the call before her friend asked further questions.

_'Their break would be over soon… she won't call back till after school.'_ Mai thought as she grabbed the nearest pillow and hugged it.

"I must have been day dreaming." She said out loud. Of course, He wouldn't kiss her. He doesn't feel for anyone… but if he did, it probably wouldn't be her. She's like a sister to him.

She pulled the pillow up to her face and let out a muffled scream as she remembers the feel of his lips on her or what she imagined it to feel like.

-x-x-x-

_'Strawberry.'_ He absentmindedly thought, flipping through the pages of his Trigonometry book.

He was hardly listening to anything. Of course, being the genius that he is, he had already understood before the teacher could even give examples and anyway if he tried to listen to the teacher his thoughts would flee to a certain brunette's strawberry tasted lips.

'_"You won't forget me after I do this.' Quite uncharacteristic, Noll.'_ His consciousness had said. _'…and you even kissed her, you sly fox.'_

True. It was unlike him to have said that, ever so, it was very very unlike him to have swooped down and stolen a kiss from her. What was it that possessed him to do that?

_'A certain green eyed monster called envy probably.'_ His consciousness said dryly.

"Davis-san. Please answer the question."

His eyes widened a fraction as he turns another page of his trigonometry book. He scans the page for the question that the teacher had asked him to answer.

The teacher had caught him of guard for a while. Naru's surprised look almost had the teacher smirking and ready to say something about him not paying attention in class until he had gone up to the board. H

As he wrote on the board the answer to an obviously easy question (he's a genius of course but don't let him know that ), His mind flashbacks to last night.

He remembers Mai's smiling face. He remembers her laugh that sounded like bells. He remembers his brother and Yasu goofing around. He remembers the _boy _stepping in. He remembers his name was Kou and he was Mai's childhood friend. He remembers seeing green as they talk about Mai being someone's first love.

And at that moment he realizes what had possessed him.

"As always, good work Davis-san." The teacher commented as he looks over his work, trying to find a flaw in his solution.

He sat down on his chair and looked back at his trigonometry book. Absentmindedly running his eyes over the pages, not truly absorbing anything in it.

_He was jealous_. He finally admits. It didn't occur to him that Mai would have met boys that also harbored feelings for her. He always thought he would be the only one…

Who was he kidding, though Mai was stubborn, clumsy and rather headstrong, He couldn't deny that she was pretty… no not pretty… Beautiful. She was like the sun, could bright up the room with only her presence.

_'You're becoming the cheeseball, Noll.'_

He silently sighed. What was she doing to him?

-x-x-x-

"That would be 500 Yen." The cashier said. Mai handed her the cash and grabbed her grocery bag containing snacks.

"Thank you very much! Come again!" The cashier bowed and Mai smiled back before exiting the store. It reminded her when she used to take part time before Ayako became her legal guardian. There were times that there were very broody customers that would only grunt at her and sometimes, it brought her day down, but there were really kind customers that would smile at her, it certainly made changes. She guess it became a sort of promise to herself that she'd smile when she'd be met with cashiers or other shop helpers, though it may not be much, she could potentially at least stop a person's bad day at work.

She stepped outside the Konbini and took a juice box out of her paper bag. She stuck the straw in, took a sip, and started to walk home.

It was still February and the air was a bit cold. She breathed out a sigh.

Momentarily distractions like this don't last too long, she is brought back to last night once again.

Was it really real? The "memory" was too real to be a dream. So, he really did kiss her?

For some reason her mind can't still accept that. She thought about how Naru was, he was… he was… well… he was NARU. The imperturbable, idiot scientist, that seem to only be interested in books and science… and most likely the last on his list would be girls. Especially girls like her.

She couldn't find an answer to why Naru would want her to never forget about him. Why would he use a kiss to prevent what she had declared?

Did he like her?

_'Zettai muri.'_

It's not like that idea doesn't appeal to her, she'd like to think that he harbored the same feelings as well… but didn't he reject her a year ago? What was happening?

The more she thought about it, the more confused she got. Naru was indeed a puzzle and all the actions last night (if it were real) were questionable.

"Mai." A familiar voice broke her train of thought.

At the playground was…

-x-x-x-

"Gene, You sure you don't want me to wait for you?" Oliver asked his twin brother as he changed out of his uwabaki shoes. "I don't really mind."

"It's fine brother. Club activities tonight will take a bit long, you'll miss dinner!" Gene said. Naru had finished changing his shoes and his brother ushered him out of the door. "Now, go home. I know you can't wait to see Mai!"

"What?" Oliver turned around with his eyes wide and looked at his brother. _'Did he see? Last night?'_

"Why are you so…" Gene looked puzzled and then he finally pieced it together. "Something happened last night!"

"What? No." Noll inwardly groaned. His brother had found out something happened. He would be bombarded with questions in three… two… one…

His brother had opened his mouth to speak when… "Gene-kun! We need help with this box!" Shinohara-san had called out. Gene gave a disappointed look then pointed to his brother.

"We will talk about this later." He said to Noll. "Coming, Shinohara-san!"

_'Thank you Shinohara-san.'_ Oliver thought silently as the girl had saved him from an interrogation.

He began to walk his way home.

-x-x-x-

"Kou-chan." Mai said breathless from the surprise.

"Yo." He saluted her. "What brings you here?"

"I just bought some snacks from the konbini over there. You?" She asked smiling.

"I was actually in the area hoping I could spot you. The school's also a bit near so I was hopeful." He said stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"You came around to see me?" Mai asked taking the last sip of her now empty juice box.

"I had something to ask you." He said and looked up at the sky. Mai noticed his cheeks were getting tinted a shade of pink. _'Was it really that cold?'_

"Oh. What is it?" She smiled.

-x-x-x-

He passed by the convenience store on his way home and bought the brand of juice, Mai liked. If she was sick, She needed to get hydrated to get better.

"Yes, sir. That would be 100 yen." The cashier said and Noll handed her the amount. "Thank you! Come again!"

He stepped out of the shop and started his way home. He couldn't understand why he was a little more enthusiastic than usual to head home. Of course, going home from school is satisfying since school was dull and he particularly didn't like socialization and the girls that kept squealing when he passed by. Going home was like the good part of the day but now it was better and more entertaining with the addition of a certain brunette to the Davis household.

_"I know you can't wait to see Mai!" _Gene's goofy voice had flooded his mind. His line of vision met brown and unmistakably he was familiar with that shade.

It was Mai. In the playground. She was with Kousuke.

"I had something I wanted to ask you." Kousuke said.

"Oh. What is it?" She asked.

He stood there, hiding behind the wall and the tree.

_'What am I doing?'_

-x-x-x-

"Uhm… Last night…" Mai's ears perked up as he said that phrase. "I kinda saw you and that Oliver guy arguing… I also saw him…"

Mai held her breath.

"Kiss you." He said. Mai felt her whole world spinning. It was real? It wasn't a delusion. _'I wasn't dreaming. He actually did…' _A million thoughts ran through her mind a mile a second. Her heart was beating as fast as it could.

"I have a question. Actually, two" Kousuke said as if to ask permission.

"Yeah. Go ahead." Mai couldn't keep the blush on her face as she had her delusion (which was actually real) confirmed to be a reality.

"Are you two going out?" He asked.

-x-x-x-

"Are you two going out?" He had heard Kousuke say. Noll was peeking through the tree and saw Mai was blushing from ear to ear.

When he had kissed her, It wasn't really anything but because he was jealous of Kousuke and was fueled by what Mai had said…

But going out with Mai…. that thought didn't irk him at all.

"Uh… we're not…" Mai said quietly.

"Oh. Then I'd like to ask you this final question." Kousuke said.

"Yes?" Mai raised her eyebrow.

"Would it be Okay..." Kousuke trailed off, scratching his head, adorning a blush on his face.

_**"...If I asked you out?" **_

* * *

**TGP:** Hi! I'm back! *Items being thrown at her* I'm so sorry for the late late update huhuhu College has been so busy but I'll try my best to update a bit more regularly again ;n; so yes

What do you think would happen? Will Naru give away his hiding spot and take Mai away from there? Will Mai say yes? or Will author-chan to take forever to update again? just kidding XD see you in the next chapter of YSMFK

**TGP thanks**: All the reviewerssss, all those who favorited and all those who follow YSMFK

I love you guys :)

**TGP**: I'd like to know what you guys think will happen in the next chapter ;) even though i've finished writing half of it, I'd like to know your predictions XD leave a review :)

**An:**

**Konbini_ \- Convenience Store_**

**Uwabaki -****_Those shoes you see in animes that they wear in school_**

**"Zettai Muri."** \- **_Definitely No. (or something like that.)_**

Thought up head canons in this chapter: 

-Mai's smiling at work people because she had experienced the hardships in part time jobs, Mai's such a sweet heart that she smiles in hopes to brighten people's day ;u;

-Teachers desperately want to see Naru get a mistake especially the Trigonometry teacher, He's waiting for the day Naru gets a 99


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

"Time is moving so fast! I can hardly believe we'll be graduating next week. Actually, after three days." Naomi said smiling. "Finals was just last week. I remember winter break, when sensei was urging us about our decisions."

"I know. It took Mai a while to give him an answer though." Louise said thoughtfuly. "Oh yeah, Mai. You never told us where you were going." The two girls looked at Mai expectantly.

Mai snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh. Yeah. ToDai. Remember we had Gene's late night Math crash course to help me and Naomi. I passed Math, barely but enough. The next day after the exams though, I forgot all how to Math."

Naomi and Louise deadpanned. "How could someone just forget?" Louise shook her head.

"It's Mai, She hates math with a vengeance." Naomi laughed. "Anyway, It's good we all got into ToDai. Different courses, but we can still hang out."

"Yeah. I'm taking Psychology, Louise is taking business, and Naomi is taking literature." Mai said.

"What about Gene-san and Naru-san?" Louise asked.

"Oh, you're hoping you can still see Gene-san more." Naomi teased Louise. "Don't worry, I think he's going to ToDai. I heard. He was talking about it with Yasuhara."

"So who's the stalker again?" Louise tried to tease Naomi who waved it off. Louise frowned and shifted the topic. "What about Naru-san then, Mai?"

"Funny, I don't really know." Mai shrugged. "I guess I'll ask him after school."

Louise and Naomi looked at Mai suspiciously. "Are you guys going on a date later?"

"WHAT?! Me and HIM? NO! I guess I forgot to tell you guys…" Mai said.

"Tell us what?" Louise asked curiously.

"I live in the Davis household…" Mai said.

"WHAT?!" The two girls shouted in unison, earning looks from their classmates.

"Shhhh." Mai shushed them. "It's only till the end of the first semester at college…"

"or the first few semesters…" she continued.

"You're living the dream life of EVERY Davis fan girl, Mai." Naomi said. "Even, I would jump at the opportunity."

"WHY DID YOU NOT TELL US EARLIER?" The usually quiet Louise said, excitedly.

"Well… Nobody asked so…" Mai scratched her head. "Besides, it was a really, really, unexpected situation."

"Where does Ayako-san live then?" Naomi asked. "With Takigawa-san?"

"No, She's living with Kaori Baa-chan." Mai said before getting confused looks and then added. "Her mother."

The two girls nodded. "But why didn't you stay with them then?" Louise asked.

"Baa-chan's house is far from here, It will take a few bus rides. I tried to persuade Ayako but she said I'd always be late for school, which is true." Mai said, making the two girls giggle.

"So how in the world did you get to live with the Davises?" Naomi asked eagerly.

"Well…." Mai started the whole story.

-x-x-x-

"Ground subsidence. That's some weird bug." Naomi commented.

"No, Naomi. The ground to where their houses were built is sinking or something like that." Louise rolled her eyes. "But anyway, Mai?"

"Yes?" Mai replied.

"You've been acting pretty weird lately, you've been zoning out way more than usual. Is there something bothering you?" Louise asked thoughtfully.

Mai sighed. "Kou-chan, asked me out, last last week." She said.

"AND?!" Naomi said excitedly. "What did you say?"

_-flashback-_

_"If I asked you out?" Kousuke asked shyly._

_"Uhm... Wow, Kousuke thanks…" Mai blushed. This was something Mai didn't expect. She already told him a long time ago that she thought of him as a brother but…_

_"I know you see me as a brother, a best friend, but I want you to try… Just try, to see me. Please." Kousuke asked._

_"Kousuke, that's really sweet but I…"_

_"I know, you like him." Kousuke scratched his head and looked a bit sad. "The boy from the library. The one in your letters. I thought that if I try hard and keep writing to you, that when I come back, You'll like me back." _

_"The first letter you wrote about him, I had hope. He then kept appearing in your letters and I knew. I had already lost before I started." Kousuke said. "You love him, even if I had read you had been rejected by him."_

_"I-_

_"It's okay Mai. I'll make you see me. You don't have to answer yet." He smiled, still full of hope._

_"Well, I have to go." He put his hands in his jacket pocket and left Mai, with a confused expression._

-x-x-x-

"Poor Kousuke." Naomi said. "but, it is true that Mai is in love with Naru."

"Despite the rejection too, Mai kept loving Naru." Louise said. " I don't know who to root for at this moment." She giggled.

"Wait how do you know, I liked Naru?" Mai asked the girls, she hadn't told them.

"You're too obvious and we're your best friends." Naomi laughed.

-x-x-x-

_'"You love him, even if I had read you had been rejected by him."' _Oliver kept replaying the scene he had witnessed in his mind. He had thought of this for the whole two weeks. _'Who is the boy in the library?'_

"Gene, How did I met Mai?" Oliver thought. He was friends with Mai for a long time but he couldn't remember…

"Oh. You told me you met an annoying girl at the library the first day. I met her the day after, when she called you out in the hallway." He said walking by his side. They were both on their way home.

_'I met Mai in the library… am i..?' _He thought and then remembered the buried memory.

_-flashback-_

_Oliver was busy reading a book, sitting by the wall in the middle of two bookshelves. He was the transfer student in class 1-1 along with his brother Gene. Of course, Gene had found new friends in no time and was now having lunch with them in the classroom._

_Gene had invited him but of course, Naru didn't like to socialize and ate his lunch in peace outside. After that, He headed for the library, reading the next chapter the teacher said they would discuss._

_He was in the middle of his reading when a girl went there and gestured him to be silent. Naru glared at the girl._

_The girl had short brown hair and was peeking out of the edge of one book shelf. She was wearing the schools' traditional winter uniform with the skirt reaching a little above her knees and wore black knee high socks with it._

_"I believe the library is not a place for hide and seek." He said, irritated. He had come to the library to be alone, and undisturbed… and now he was not._

_The girl glared back at him and went closer to him. She lowered herself, kneeling to be at his eye level and then shushed him._

_"MAI-CHAN! Doko ni iru no?" He heard a girl say from the other side of the left book case. Mai had widened her eyes. Oliver had opened his mouth but Mai covered it with her hand. Her eyes pleading him not to say word._

_Oliver's eyes widened as soon as Mai's head turned. He felt his pulse quicken as he realized how close they were._

_"Ehhh. I guess she's not here." The girl said quietly and then they heard footsteps moving away from them. Mai breathed a sigh of relief, she sat down in front of Oliver. _

_"Hey. I haven't seen you around. Are you new around here?" Mai asked a bit loudly._

_"Did you know that the library has a rule? It's called be quiet." Oliver said s bit irritated, but his heart was still beating erratically._

_Mai rolled her eyes. "And you are snarky. Hajimemashite. Taniyama Mai desu. I'm from class 1-B."_

_Oliver bowed slightly. "Davis Oliver desu. Class 1-A"_

_"Oh, you're foreign. You look Japanese though." Mai took a closer look, making Oliver slightly uncomfortable._

_"I was adopted." He said. "One of my original parents might have been Japanese."_

_"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know." Mai apologized. "So, where are you from?"_

_"And you ask too many questions. I'm from England." Oliver said, returning his attention to his book._

_"Is that where the Queen lives?" Mai asked eagerly. "What does her palace look like?"_

_"And loud." Oliver flipped another page of the book._

_Mai huffed. "I was only trying to make friends." Mai looked at him and then pouted. "Hey."_

_"Yes, Taniyama-san?" Oliver asked._

_"Why are you all alone?" Mai asked._

_"I don't have friends." Oliver said like it was nothing, but when he looked at Mai, he saw her eyes sadden and then lit up._

_"Well… I could be your friend." Mai said enthusiastically. Oliver looked up and saw her smile brighten up the room._

_-x-x-x-_

_'If I was the boy in the library…'_ He thought but he couldn't even say it in his mind because he couldn't even believe it himself. It felt impossible… but the fact that Mai's childhood friend had blatantly put it out…

Unexpectedly, unbelievably, His feelings were requited. He had confirmed it twice, from Mai herself, and from her friend.

He closed his eyes. He already had one problem left at hand. How would he face Mai now?

He was avoiding her for two weeks since the kissing incident, not sure how to act around her just yet. The kiss was basically a confirmation of his feelings.

He covered his eyes with his hand as he felt his cheeks slowly heat up.

-x-x-x-

Mai closed her eyes and blushed as he remembered Kousuke remind her of her ever unrequited feelings. _'"You love him, even if you had been rejected by him."' _Mai opened her eyes and sighed.

"See you, Mai!" Naomi said as she and Louise headed off in a different path. "Bye Bye!"

"Bye Bye!" She smiled at them until their backs were turned and she headed for the path on the left, leading to the Davis household. Her footsteps dreading to see Naru, which she felt like her head would burst from extreme heat just by seeing him.

She remembers in school, even just hearing his voice, she felt the need to run away as far as possible. At the house, She would sometimes cope herself up inside her room and never go out.

_'I'm glad I had the "I'm studying for finals" excuse. Luella and Gene were worried.'_ Mai sighed.

Mai finally reached the front door. She opened it and left her shoes right beside the door. "Tadaima!"

"Okaeri." Naru had said. He was sitting on the couch, book in hand and a cup of tea on the coffee table.

Mai was startled and a bit nervous. _'Don't be obvious Mai. Its fine, maybe he thought of the kiss as a joke. Maybe he did. Imagine it was a joke Mai. It was all a joke._

_ 'He would say just kidding any moment now, or today, or this week. He'll say that.' _Mai thought. _'Oh my god, he's looking at me.' _She looked at him at that moment.

Noll was looking straight at Mai and he noticed the blush staining her cheeks. This took him back to remembering their feelings were requited… maybe. _'She could have met many other boys in the library right?' _He convinced himself. _'But not all of them rejected her before.' _His consciousness had replied teasingly.

He felt his cheeks heat up and he was trying so hard to tone it down.

Gene stepped in at the right moment and stopped for a moment as he observed his best friend and brother was having a sort of staring contest. He noticed the two of them blushing furiously.

"Did something happen between you two?" Gene asked innocently, smirking silently inside. Something definitely happened.

"N-N-N-N-No Gene. It was so hot outside, you don't even know." Mai fanned herself.

"Excuse me." She ran up to her room.

"But it's spring. It's not that hot…" Gene trailed of as the girl disappeared into her room. "Mai's been acting weird this week… You as well. You've been avoiding each other like the plague."

Naru looked down guiltily. "What happened lately?" Gene asked.

"I kissed her." Naru said. "It must be why she was so uncomfortable around me."

"Wooh! That was the largest step up between you two ever!" Gene said eagerly. "And… Did you confess your feelings for her already?"

"No. Not verbally, the kiss should have been a dead giveaway. But I confirmed her feelings for me, twice in a row already." Noll kept looking down. "The first, before I kissed her. She told me she was still in love with me. The second when her childhood friend asked her out."

Gene's eyes widened. "Did she say yes?" Gene asked.

"She couldn't give an answer but Kousuke knew she would say no… because she liked me but he wasn't ready to give up just yet." Oliver said quietly.

"Well… You shouldn't keep avoiding her for one thing. You may not know but Kousuke could steal her from you in moments, if you don't act now." Gene said.

They heard the door open upstairs when they saw Mai running down the stairs cellphone in hand. "Why do you want me to go down Kou-chan?" She asked. Mai slipped on a pair of slippers and then went out of the door.

The twins peaked out the window and saw Kousuke with a bouquet of roses.

"And I say, you got to act fast." Gene said to him as he saw Kousuke hand Mai the bouquet and the smile she gave back to him.

-x-x-x-

The next day, Gene looked sadly as Mai still avoided Naru. Was Kousuke really stealing her heart little by little, or was Mai still uncomfortable around his brother?

Oliver also was awkard around Mai. He appreciated Naru's attempts but he was still robotic around her. Oh how he wished that he could just lock the two in a closet already.

Naomi was in the Davis household today, which looked really elated. They were both waiting for Louise and were eating snacks in the living room. Gene was in the kitchen eating lunch then.

"Your parents had the coolest fairytale like love story."

"Not really. But I'm curious about your parents." Naomi said. "What is their love story then?"

"Well… Mom was working at the Baa-chan's shop when a guy approached her and asked if they had Roses. Mom eagerly nodded and showed him the colors they had. The guy was actually Dad, and he was Mom's senpai at school. He had heard that my mom's favorite flower were Roses so he went to their store and bought a bouquet. After Mom had wrapped it in a ribbon, Dad said to keep it. He bought it for her. Dad wasn't a romantic guy, but Mom had also had a crush on him for years since she was a freshman, so she was really giddy when that happened. Then Dad asked her out on the school festival." Mai smiled. Her parent's love story was one of her favorite bed time stories.

"That's so cute." Naomi squealed. "Roses are pretty but I prefer Daisies. You?"

"I love peonies too much. I remember being 5 in Baa-chan's store and just steal a flower. She didn't mind though because she loved how I'd just wear it around my ear all day." Mai said. "It has a good meaning too. Baa-chan told me in china it was 'Beautiful'."

Gene began to form an idea in his head.

-x-x-x-

After they sung _'Aogeba tootoshi' _Mai's eyes were already filled with tears. She was wearing her school uniform for the last time. She'd sure miss high school.

She had already received her diploma and was currently taking the last class picture with her classmates.

"1. 2. 3. Smile." A Kouhai said as he was taking their picture. Mai held a peace sign and was between Naomi and Louise.

They were outside the school, but not outside the school grounds. Oliver and Gene were busy getting goodbye's from their beloved Kouhai-fans. In the spirit of graduation, Naru had stayed calm about it and didn't ignore them.

Mai giggled as she saw Naru being crowded by his fan girls. All asking them who he would give his second button to. Naru looked at Mai and their eyes met for a while before he looked away.

Mai looked saddened for a moment, She wishfully thought, he was going to give it to her. She sighed _'It would be too good to be true anyway'_ She then went to Luella.

"Luella-san." She tapped her shoulder. She and Martin were standing by the school gate, waiting for both of their sons. "I'll be heading on first, I'll visit my Parents' graves before heading home."

"Okay, dear. Be safe. Call me when you get home." Luella smiled. "Oh wait! We need a picture with you and my boys first."

"Oh. Okay." Mai smiled.

"Gene! Noll!" She called out. The boys coming near her in an instant.

"Yes, Mum?" Gene asked. He then realized when his father held out the camera.

"Noll stand at Mai's right, You Gene on the left." Luella said. The teens carried on with Luella's instruction.

"Okay look at the camera. 1." Martin said, his finger ready to press the button.

Oliver looked at Mai. Her smiling face.

"2." Oliver smiled a small smile. His eyes suddenly filled with affection, which was uncharacteristic for him.

"3." And Martin took the shot, it fazed Oliver for a bit and looked at his father. Martin signaled for another picture. They all smiled at the camera then Martin took another picture.

"Thank you." Mai bowed to their parents. "I'll go now. Bye!" She waved at the twins before hurriedly getting her bag from Luella and exiting the school on her bike. Oliver's eyes widened.

"Noll, Go. Now!" Gene pushed his brother and he himself hurriedly got the bouquet Louise and Naomi were holding for her.

"Hey are you Oliver Davis?" A foreign girl asked. At this moment, He couldn't careless anymore and excused himself away from the girl who still followed him even though he seemed to be in a hurry.

"Hey! Wait!" She said trying to keep up with him. She grabbed his polo and he turned around.

"I'm really sorry. I'm in a hurry. Let go of my Polo. Now." He said, irritated, which caused the girl to let go.

He sprint into a run following Mai who was unaware that she was being followed. His bike was at home unfortunately, so he had to run fast to keep up with her.

She parked her bike at the train station's bike parking and locked it with a chain. Then she headed for the train station.

Inside the train station, Oliver had lost Mai near the station and figured that she might have gone here. He looked around and was ready to give up, when he saw Mai coming down the steps. "Mai!"

-x-x-x-

Mai heard her name and saw Naru among the crowd. Holding a bouquet of Peonies, Looking very disheveled, and was out of breath. She ran down the steps quickly and went near him.

"Naru, Why?" She asked confused. Naru held out the bouquet of peonies to her.

"W-w-what's this for?" She asked blushing from ear to ear. Was she dreaming?

Mai received the flowers, which slightly lost their petals. She looked at Naru and realized that he had been running. He ran to catch up with her…

Naru was still trying to catch his breath and couldn't speak. He ripped off the second button of his uniform and handed it also to Mai.

"What?" Mai's eyes widened. She held out her palm to receive the button. _'If he's giving me this… then…'_

"Mai." He started to speak.

"Y-y-yes?" Mai replied nervously. Anticipation hanging on every fiber of her being.

* * *

**TGP: **SLight cliffhanger. I know you all still love me :) DOn't worry guys, We're not nearing the end. We're just having a really big event happen. ;)

I hope this update didn't take too long. This was pretty much the longest chapter I wrote XD so Now what is going to happen next *laughs evily*

**TGP Notes**:

"Mai-chan! Doko ni iru no?" - MAi, Where are you?

Kouhai - If you're a senior, you're kouhai are the juniors.

Senpai - (we all know this)

Aoegeba Tootoshi - A graduation song sang in the tune of Aud Lang Syne (we also sang this during our graduation, No i'm not japanese but my school is somewhat)

ToDai - Tokyo University

Bonus Part: Poor Satsuki-san

"What do you mean that Oliver Davis is graduating?" Elise whined. She even got herself enrolled in Class 3-1.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. You only told me to get you into the same classroom with Oliver Davis." The assistant said fearfully. She felt that she'd lose her job soon. "I found out that this batch was graduating today."

"Ugh!" Elise groaned and left the room slamming the door.

The assistant sighed in relief. _'Today was not the day.'_ She smiled.

The door opened revealing Elise frowning. "Oh. You're fired, Satsuki. but before that, get Kazuki-san and tell him to prepare the car." She slammed the door.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

John was mixed in the crowed of his cousins' graduation. He stood awkward with Luella and Martin as they all waited for Gene, who was saying goodbye to his fangirls, and Noll… who is nowhere to be found.

"Uncle, Where's Noll?" John tugged on Martin's shirt. Martin looked around worriedly but then calmed down as Luella placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Noll, I believe, is pursuing the girl he's going to give his second button to." Luella giggled, she'd waited years for this. His son, who had locked himself away from the world, had finally fallen in love. The plan that Oliver thought of when Gene had revealed Mai's favorite flowers, was innocently leaked by the older twin to her. That news left her elated, and it was real hard to keep her mouth shut.

"Excuse me but, second button?" John asked. He wasn't familiar with Japanese culture for the few years he has been in Japan.

"Oh. Well the second button of your school uniform is nearest to your heart. Whoever you give it to means that person is the one who has your heart for your three years in high school." Gene said approaching his parents and cousin. "I see you barely made it. How was the entrance exam?"

"I'm really sorry Gene. I didn't know the last batch would take that long." He bowed. "

"No, it's fine John." Gene patted the young boys shoulder. "I bet he's confessing to her right now." He whispered to Luella.

She was always right. From the moment Mai had stepped in the Davis household, she was able to coax a reaction from him that only Gene could do, and that was only the first. There were a lot of brief moments when Luella caught his son staring at her, being so animate at the dinner table with Gene.

Then, there was also a time when they studied together, she was carrying her camera after John, who was just home from cram school, had helped her transfer the files to her laptop in the living room and then Noll's door was slightly ajar and the light was still on. Oliver and Mai were fast asleep, their arms used as pillows and their faces were facing each other. Luella couldn't help but going in slightly and took a picture of them. When she had, her son had stirred but thankfully did not wake up.

She exited the room quietly then, but still she was peeking. John had gave a confused look at her before retreating into his room. Her son had woken up and saw Mai was asleep. Luella left them and gave a small smile, he had something new to gossip to Madoka tomorrow.

She was about to turn the knob of her bedroom door when she heard footsteps. She turned around and saw her son in the hallway, Mai in his arms. Luella tried to contain her giggles and walked to open the girl's bedroom, to where Naru entered and placed her on her bed. It was when Luella saw how much Noll cared for the girl as he carefully tucked her in, unaware of her presence. That made her heart fill with so much happiness.

She remembered how he forced Noll into numerous arrange dates and the girls would all go complain to her crying. She worried about whether or not her son would ever find someone who he would love with all of his heart, who'd open his heart and let him express the feelings he'd always kept suppressed. When she saw how her son looked at Mai, as if she were the most precious thing in the planet, she knew she didn't have to worry anymore.

-x-x-x-

"Mai." He gained his composure the second time he said her name. He could hear his own heartbeat, beating erratically from either the running or how nervous he was. Most likely, the latter.

"Y-y-yes, Naru?" She asked holding the bouquet tightly as well as the button in her right hand. Her face tinted red from the shock. _'His second button… I'm not dreaming am I?'_

"I've known you from when we were both freshmen. You had bugged me in the library and all I could think of later that day was your loud mouth. From that very day on wards, even if I persistently push you away, you persistently try your hardest to create a friendship between us and became an irremovable entity in my heart. You've become a close friend, closer than what I should have normally allowed." Oliver looked down at his shoes. This was harder than what he had imagined it to be.

"I'm not built to be sociable. I'm not Gene, I'm not everybody's friend. I didn't understand why anybody would—

"That's because you're you, Naru. I chose to be friends with you because I wanted to. Even if you told me to go away after I said I'd be your friend at the library, I kept trying day by day, because I wanted to be your friend. It didn't need a reason." Mai said. Noll looked up to see her smiling but tears were running down her eyes. Was she alright? Did he say something he wasn't supposed to?

"Mai." He reached out his hand, he looked at her nervously. Then she pushed his hand gently and wiped her tears with the hand that wasn't holding the bouquet and flowers. "Go on, continue. Really, I'm just a bit too happy."

Naru coughed and scratch his head. "I am incapable of making friends, so I push people away… but you, you persistently became my friend. Now you became so close. At a certain point, I didn't know what to do."

"The day you confessed, I didn't know, I didn't understand why anybody would like me and that's why I said the words I said back there and I found myself regretting that I'd hurt you. After that, I thought you'd never talk to me again… but I was wrong, we we're both awkward but you tried and it just made me realize. I had to do something about something, something I've already known and acknowledged."

"I feel so stupid that it took me my whole High school years to muster up the courage to do this, but anyway." He looked at Mai and her face was a mix of anticipation and pure confusion.

"Taniyama Mai, I like you." A statement that fell to unhearing ears as the train had landed to a stop at the station and made a noise at just the wrong moment.

-x-x-x-x-

"Davis-san!" Ayako walked towards them, her boyfriend in toe. "Have you seen Mai? I've just arrived. This man here couldn't fix the tire and my missed my precious Mai's graduation." She glared at Bou-san who had a bump on his forehead.

"Oh dear! I'm afraid she left already to visit her parents' grave." Luella said. Her eyes went over to Bou-san's forehead. "My, My. What happened to you Takigawa-san?"

"Let's say that an Old lady hit me with a purse a little bit too hard." He sad lightly rubbing his bump. Ayako looked at him and shouted. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD LADY?!"

"This won't be ending well." John commented to which the Davises laughed. The couple began exchanging insults, not minding the audience that were watching them.

-x-x-x-x-

Mai blinked. "What? Sorry, the train was too loud. I couldn't hear you." Mai said a little louder as the train departed.

Oliver inwardly panicked. He opened his mouth and tried to repeat the words but he felt too embarrassed to say them again. _'Damn. She didn't hear me.'_

Mai looked at her watch and saw that it was already 5pm. She did remember Luella telling her yesterday that there'd be a celebration at the house. "Naru?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"I'm really sorry, we could pick this conversation up later. Would you like to come with me?" Mai asked.

"Where to?" Oliver asked. Still a bit frustrated that Mai hadn't heard his confession. _'Of course the train just had to come at that moment.'_ He thought. _'How childish, Oliver. Blaming a train…'_

"Minato ward." Mai said looking at her watch. Without even waiting for an answer, Mai had grab hold of Oliver's wrist with her free hand and dragged him to the entrance. She released him to swipe her pass then went on to the other side of the gate. She put her pass in her pocket and waited for Oliver to do the same before grabbing his wrist once again dragged him to the waiting area.

While waiting for the next train to arrive, Oliver had noticed that Mai hasn't let go of his wrist. He smirked and freed his hand to grab hold of hers. Placing her fingers in between his. For some reason, he felt like it fit so perfectly.

Mai's eyes widened as she felt Oliver's hand grab hers. She felt her cheeks heating up and her heart beat accelerate, if this keeps up she'd probably have an angina.

Oliver felt Mai's fingers enclose his hand. His smirk becoming a small smile. The train had arrived at that very moment. He watches it from a fair distance as it slowly comes to a stop. The crowd taking them in letting them stand at the other side of the train, at the opposite side of the door, which they entered in.

Oliver took the bouquet Mai was holding and Mai put the button inside her uniform's pocket.

The train ride to Minato would consists of changing train lines, but it didn't bother the two. Though they were silent the whole trip, it wasn't awkward, it was just a different kind of silence.

-x-x-x-

"Would you mind telling me why we're here at Minato?" he asked. Mai dragging him somewhere. He looked around and saw various cherry blossoms in bloom. The sight looked so pretty and the girl smiling in front of him matched the scenery perfectly.

"We're here!" Mai said. They had stopped at the Aoyama cemetery in Minato.

Oliver gave Mai a questioning look. _'Who could Mai be…. Oh…'_

"Come on! There's some people, I'd like you to meet." Mai said and then continued to drag Oliver. They walked for a while before arriving in front of the Taniyama family shrine.

"Otousan, Okasan. It's been a while. Sorry I didn't visit last week. Finals were really stressful." Mai let go of Oliver's hand and grabbed two peonies from the bouquet. She slid them out of the paper wrapping. "Is it okay if I…?"

"It's fine. It's yours anyway." Oliver reassured.

Oliver watched as Mai crouched down and put it on the base of the grave stone. She offered a small prayer and then stood up. I guess those days she disappeared from the house, she went to visit her parents.

"Otousan, Okasan, This is my friend, His name is Oliver Davis. I call him Naru 'cause he is such a narcissist." Mai giggled and gestured to Oliver. Mai looked at him and said. "Go on, introduce yourself."

"Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Oliver Davis desu." Oliver found himself bowing in front of the gravestone as if he was talking to her parents. "Your daughter has been a very close friend to me since I started high school. She is a bit troublesome though."

"My mom agrees with you." She replied as if listening to the gravestone. "I admit, I am a bit troublesome… only a bit."

"She's landed in quite a lot of trouble and had harmed herself sometimes, but I promise you Sir, Maam, that I'd do my best to try keep her out of harm's way." He said, the wind wafting through them as if to serve as a reply.

"There's no need for you to protect me, Naru. I can take care of myself." Mai pouted. Oliver laughed, the rare ones that Mai had only seen a handful of times, usually with Gene. This was the first time she saw it alone. "What's so funny?!" She demanded.

"You're parents said to keep an eye out for you. They keep seeing you hurt when you visit them." Oliver said. Mai huffed. "Oh, so you can speak to spirits now?"

"No, I just predicted. If you come here every week then your parents would have seen the numerous times, you got hurt from trying to help other people." Oliver said. "Your parents would've hated to see you hurt."

"How would you know that?" Mai asked, crossing her arms.

"Because I know I would." Oliver said. "And when you care about someone, you don't like it when you see them scarred or hurt or crying."

"S-s-so, you care about me." Mai stuttered. Oliver looked at her. She was blushing again.

"Naru, at the station, before the train arrived..." Mai said.

"Mai, I wanted to tell you that-

"I know, I heard, I like you too. I always had, and I always will." Mai smiled.

* * *

**TGP:** Don't worry guys we're not ending sooon, This plot is just actually thickening. Now they finally reached each other XD it took me so long to write this and it was so hard to write the confession for Naru help (SORRY FOR OOCNESS I TRIED MY BEST)

so that was C.7 gotta cut this an short XD

btw they came from Shibuya station to Aoyama so i did a bit of research on how to get there XD

**TGP:** See you the next chapter, expect family dinners, and an Arrival of a character


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